Fibromyalgia

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2004

Some people may truly have it

others just want to have it

Now from what Ive read here is the only test for FM is the 18 pain points

Now let me poke you 18 times and you will tell me that hurts also.

You find me a good definitive blood test or something equivalent and I will be much more accepting

In the meantime

they roll into ER with their Dramatics

I roll my eyes

Like everyone has ADD or ADHD now

Of course it really doesnt matter to me

anyone coming to er with pain

I dont care the source

real or imagined

I support giving them whatever they want.

BeachNurse · Apr 4, 2004

Nice sarcasm...sounds like you know nothing about this condition. The physician doesnt "poke" you..he applies mild pressure to certain areas. It should not be painful normally.

I would never think to go to the ER for any FM symptoms I experience either. I just deal with it day to day..I work full time and have 3 active kids. No one would choose to have this problem..other than drug-seeking people who are making things up.

BeachNurse · Apr 4, 2004

To CBarnett, I have a negative R factor, however I have had painful joints in both hands, fingers, wrists, knees, elbows, feet, ankles, toes and occaisonally ribs for the past several months (since last summer). My ANA is positive and other tests are positive for inflammation. One of the docs I work with doesn't believe in FM and thinks everything is due to my arthritis. I do have unexplained muscle pain. My mother has severe RA and had both knees and hips replaced before the age of 50 and her mother died of scleroderma.

I don't know about what you can do to prevent RA..I have always been a healthy person and it came on suddenly. Just because I don't have red, swollen joints and a + RF my doctor won't treat me with DMARDs..I am seeking another Rheumatologist who is more aggressive because I don't want to be crippled in 10 years..I have 2 boys and a 1 yr old baby girl to raise..

veetach · Apr 4, 2004

Some people may truly have it
others just want to have it
Now from what Ive read here is the only test for FM is the 18 pain points
Now let me poke you 18 times and you will tell me that hurts also.
You find me a good definitive blood test or something equivalent and I will be much more accepting
In the meantime
they roll into ER with their Dramatics
I roll my eyes
Like everyone has ADD or ADHD now
Of course it really doesnt matter to me
anyone coming to er with pain
I dont care the source
real or imagined
I support giving them whatever they want.

Tom, I admire your wisdom. I wish I worked with you, I think you are my type of nurse :) . I think the vagueness of FM is what really gets under my skin. There is no real way of diagnosing it, as Tom said if you poke anyone 18 times they will feel pain. I feel pain in more than 18 places after a busy 12 hour shift, believe me! Show me a definitive diagnostic test for FM and I will lend it more credence.

People get tired, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome fad of the 80's made itself available for many people to hop on the bandwagon so to speak and spend countless dollars trying to treat CFS, how often do we see this diagnosis now? Back in the late 80's I worked for a dr who swore I had CFS, did a blood test (Epstein Barr and CMV) he tried to diagnose me with CFS, but I wouldnt buy it. I have had mono before and I have and will always test positive for CMV.... By the way, I was so tired because I didnt know I was pregnant at the time. :rolleyes: its amazing 34 weeks later my symptoms resolved and I had a bouncing baby girl to boot! LOL

RNCENCCRNNREMTP · Apr 4, 2004

People get tired, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome fad of the 80's made itself available for many people to hop on the bandwagon

I remember an article about chronic fatigue syndrome from the late 80's. This one man "had to quit medical school" because CFS just made it impossible to keep up. But he could go on to take flying lessons.

Seems to me like another excuse to not be responsible grown-ups. "I don't want to do that, it's no fun". :rotfl:

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Apr 4, 2004

I disagree with those of you who are so skeptical of

FM. I have not been officially diagnosed, but the doc has mentioned it as a possibility to me.

If you wake up after two days off hurting worse than you did during a 3 day stretch of 12's, it's not a good thing. I do not take pain meds any stronger than OTC. I have Skelaxins, which I take a half one a day while I'm working to keep the pains down.

And hypoglycemia is a common ailment in my family, seems to be the family precursor to DM, low sugar for years and years and years and BAM! DM.

I realize there are indeed drug seekers and lazy bums that we see daily in our work, but to tar those of us who are truly feeling miserable with the same brush is not fair.

Helen Robinson · Apr 5, 2004

It is so sad to hear "health professionals" take these types of views of their patients...
There will always be Hypochondriacs and Drug Abusers among us and unfortunately they do misuse the health system in many cases. They were here before fibromyalgia and they will certainly be around in years to come.
But to discount a person whom you just made first contact with because they are suffering from a condition that is commonly used as a means to an end by hypochondriacs and/or drug abusers is IMHO beyond unprofessional and to me sounds very similar to discriminations of the past... :uhoh21: like assuming everyone with HIV/AIDS is or was a heroin user, a homosexual, or a prostitute.
I am starting to wonder how many here slept through their "Medical Ethics" class in nursing school. :imbar
I take personal offense to the above quoted comment as hypoglycemia is very common in my family. My newborn daughter was kept in the hospital because she was hypoglycemic on delivery and took more than 24 hrs to maintain a normal blood sugar. She is 3 yrs old and still has symptoms from time to time. I am no endochronologist but I do know that hypoglycemia is widely acknowledged by DRs as closely related to diabetes and or a precursor to diabetes and IS a real condition that myself, my sister, my mother, and brother have dealt with for years.
As for FM I was diagnosed at 19 by a rheumatologist who based his DX on the pressure point test. I have never accepted narcotics, antidepressants, or sleep aids for my problem, although I think that these can be helpful to some with correct supervison (as with any condition requiring pain management). I prefer to work on keeping my weight and stress under control and stay active...but you know weight, stress, and inactivity are a common cause of a long list of medical problems people have...
I know with great certainty that I would be very critical of anyone's ability to care for me if I arrived in their ER and got the old eye roll when I mention that I have a history of FM and hypoglycemia...I believe that I would have a valid reason to question their ability to care for me properly because of their ignorance...
BTW I do not apologize for rambling... :chuckle

I too have FM I have tried NSAIDS and have been acussed of not taking my meds as I should----This disease is such a mimic of other processes that it is very hard to tell if it just the aches and pains due to FM Or more serious to justify seeing the doc and which doc! I now have L4 & L5 degenerations with Ostio with min. bulge.....Depending on how much pain depends on the pain med---Yes I have tried neurotin and the others in that class the side effects did not justify the means---So I keep going and rest when I must from much proding from familly and friends and then off I go I do not not not have depression....Amitriptiline 25mg only helps to relax the body a bit to sleep---But now with the muscle cramps oh wow try this; for relaxing you can't sleep walk or rest when the happen mostly at night ..Oh welll we all go through our own hell's so thoes of you who doubt I sure hope you never acquire this phenomonom......

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2004

If I ever wake up pain free

I will know Im dead

Jenn CLPN · Apr 5, 2004

We see many fibromyalgia cases in our office. There is no blood test or x-ray that diagnoses it. The doctor has to decide that according to symptoms. You have to have at least "12" trigger points or painful areas(where FMS usually occurs). He puts many people majority woman on SSRi's, flexeril and elavil in the eveing to sleep. He also recommends some sweaty type of exercise if you can tolerate it like speed walking or the bike. Alot of people find that hard because when your in pain you cant exercise. We give the patients a pamphlet from the arthritis foundation telling them in detail what they can expect, there are many different feeling FMS patients get.

RainbowSkye · Apr 5, 2004

To all those suffering from fibromyalgia:

I absolutely believe this condition exists.

However, most of the people I see in the ER where I work who tell me they have fibromyalgia have never seen a rheumatologist, are on no home medications (or just ran out on Friday), are allergic to Toradol and "all NSAIDS" and have visited one of the other local ERs four or five times in last week. They call in advance to see which ER doctor is on duty (or just drive by the hospital as they know each doc's car) because they know who will prescribe what. This is my reality.

Gee whiz, this is a bit different from the people who see their rheumatologist, take their prescribed medications and use other techniques to help control their symptoms. These are the patients I do not see in the ER seeking fibromyalgia pain relief (although I may see them if they have a broken arm, need stitches, whatever).

RNin92 · Apr 5, 2004

To all those suffering from fibromyalgia:
I absolutely believe this condition exists.
However, most of the people I see in the ER where I work who tell me they have fibromyalgia have never seen a rheumatologist, are on no home medications (or just ran out on Friday), are allergic to Toradol and "all NSAIDS" and have visited one of the other local ERs four or five times in last week. They call in advance to see which ER doctor is on duty (or just drive by the hospital as they know each doc's car) because they know who will prescribe what. This is my reality.
Gee whiz, this is a bit different from the people who see their rheumatologist, take their prescribed medications and use other techniques to help control their symptoms. These are the patients I do not see in the ER seeking fibromyalgia pain relief (although I may see them if they have a broken arm, need stitches, whatever).

Funny how those same people make it from your hospital in the "deep south" to mine in Illinois!!!

Like I said before...it's not the disease/disorder...it's the behavior.

Using the ED for a drug-dealer is costing millions in healthcare dollars and clogging up the system from effectively treating "emergently ill/injured" patients.

Not to mention...we are doing no favors for these people by assisting in their addiction.

yaddadoit · Apr 5, 2004

Wow! Just read this thread and I'm really surprised and disappointed by it.

I was taught that certain responsibilities went hand in hand with having a nurses license. One of those responsibilities is to keep up with current medical issues and education. Another is to treat our patients (yes, even the drug seekers!) with respect. I encourage everyone who hasn't done it to study up on fibromyalgia. After reading some of the posts here and the amount of condemnation and lack of respect (these are my interpretations of some of these posts-- I apologize in advance if I misintrepreted!) I understand exactly why patients would Dr. shop or call in advance to find out who is working in the ER before they come in. Why waste their time to come in if they are just going to be met with disrespect and disbelief? There has been a lot of time and research spent on Fibromyalgia by very highly educated people. It amazes me that some nurses who seem so unfamiliar with fibromyalgia and have so many questions about it can just disregard all of the research that has been done and just decide that certain patients are drugseekers/lazy/depressed because an MD has diagnosed that patient with fibromyalgia. Have we now decided that doctors are not qualified to diagnose? Wow! As for the patients (and coworkers!) with fibromyalgia--my heart goes out to you for the suffering you have and will experience with this awful disease. May your paths always cross with respectful, educated medical professionals.